Panaji: The 28-year-old man arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a four-year-old girl in Mapusa, North Goa, was known to the victim’s father and was among his acquaintances, police said.
Addressing a press conference in Mapusa on Wednesday evening, Superintendent of Police (North) Rahul Gupta said the accused, identified as Pundalik Gudge, a native of Dharwad district in Karnataka, was apprehended in Panaji on Wednesday morning following an investigation involving CCTV footage, eyewitness accounts and forensic evidence.
Police had initially stated that the girl was three years old. However, during the investigation, it was established that the victim was four years old.
Gupta said the police investigation revealed that the accused was acquainted with the girl’s father, who works as a migrant labourer and used to sleep on the footpath at night. Both were present in the Mapusa market area on the day of the incident, along with other acquaintances, he said.
The SP said investigators initially faced a major challenge as they had no information about the identity of either the victim or the accused.
Police received information on Sunday night that the child had been found in a distressed condition near an abandoned building close to Lohia Ground in Mapusa.
“Investigators subsequently traced the girl’s father and reconstructed the sequence of events using CCTV footage from the surrounding areas,” he said.
Police also examined black-and-white CCTV footage from near the crime scene and questioned people familiar with the suspect.
Gupta said the acquaintances identified the accused based on the CCTV footage. However, investigators faced difficulties tracing his movements as he did not carry a mobile phone and had no digital footprint.
During the investigation, police established that the accused hailed from Dharwad in Karnataka.
Police teams were deployed across Mapusa, Panaji, Margao and Vasco to track him down. He was eventually spotted and apprehended in Panaji on Wednesday morning, Gupta said.
Police have also recovered a bag, a bedsheet and the victim’s frock from the crime scene. During interrogation, the accused allegedly identified the bag as belonging to him and confessed to the crime, the SP said.
The child, who was initially admitted to Mapusa District Hospital in critical condition before being shifted to Goa Medical College and Hospital, is now stable, Gupta said.
Police said the investigation was continuing, with a focus on collecting scientific evidence and filing the chargesheet at the earliest to ensure a speedy trial.
An FIR has been registered under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Goa Children’s Act and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
